winter

It has been a long and cold winter and spring is still a bit away. I came across this picture of some of my urn flowers and began daydreaming of warmer weather.

baking

I am back to baking again (it kills some of the time during these very long winter days). This week I have made a ton of baked goods. On Monday I made two dozen mixed berry muffins. Yesterday, I made two dozen blueberry scones. Right now I am making the cinnamon raisin bread that I had planned for this week. It is on the third rise and will go into the oven soon. I'll let you know if it a make again item.

Some of the goods are brought into the kids teachers for a treat. A lot of them get frozen and I use them as school snacks for the kids. And every once in awhile I let the kids have them for desset.

sunshine

Flowers, a spot of sunshine on a rather bleak day.

cards

We have collected all the supplies needed for the kids cards, now we just need to get them made.

homemade

I have been thinking a lot about what foods we buy that I can make like breads, jellies, pasta and whatever else might be better homemade. So I made a plan.

My new plan started today with some challah (found on smitten kitchen). It turned out great (I have already "tested" it). I will serve it to the kids tomorrow morning toasted with butter and honey after breakfast for a morning dessert. Then, on Sunday, after it has sat for a bit I will use it tomake french toast, challah makes the best french toast.

On the menu for next week is a whole wheat bread recipe that I found that claims to be really good for sandwiches and a cinnamon raisin bread along with another attempt at hard pretzels (the first recipe that I tested was not good).

chocolate

A work friend of my husbands brought back some dark chocolates from Japan for him. They are like nothing we have had before. They are neither a chocolate bar or a truffle, but something inbetween. Sadly my husband opened the small box at work and had to share a few. I have limited myself to one (they are smaller than a mini chocolate bar) every other day.

I might have to do some online research to see if I can find them or perhaps I will just savor the memory of them.

soup

Before my husband and I were married he had a studio right down the street from Friday Saturday Sunday. Friday Satuday Sunday is a great spot for dinner and we would often go. My favorite thing there was the cream of mushroom soup. It is the type of things that you wish you could order two of, really it is just that good. A few years after we started to go there I found a recipe for the soup in a cookbook and have been making it ever since.

This is perfect soup weather!

Billy Weaver's Cream of Mushroom Soup
Friday Saturday SUnday

1 lb. Kennett Square "cream" mushrooms
1/2 stick of butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 qt. chicken stock
1 qt. heavy cream
cognac to taste
salt & white pepper to taste


Don't worry if the mushrooms are not "brand new fresh" - all the better. Mushrooms that have browned slightly add color and taste to the soup.

Chop the mushrooms into a fine dice. Place in a large sauce pot with the butter and saute until most of the liquid in the mushrooms is "cooked off". Sprinkle the flour over the mushroom mixture. Stir while cooking for a few minutes, then add the chicken stock and mix well.

Allow the mixture to reduce over a medium flame to half its original volume (about 1/2 hour). Refrigerate until just before dinner.

Before serving, heat mixture while adding the heavy cream. Add cognac and salt & white pepper to taste.

Serves 6.

cold

Lot of fires to try and keep the cold away.

robots

I love when their drawings start to come together.

csa

After getting shut out last year, I just found out that we got into the csa that I wanted and I am very excited. It will probably change what I plant in my garden a bit, but that will be fun to change it up a bit. I am looking forward to us having different produce every week and up for the challenge of finding new and different ways to use it.

etsy

After the rush of last minute card orders during the holiday I took a break from card making. I now need to get back to work. Next week I plan to clean up my etsy shop and try and get things moving again and start making cards again.

valentine's day

I feel like I just came out of the Christmas fog, only to be hit with another holiday. Every year I make (along with the kids) their valentine's day cards to give out to classmates. Today I bought most of the supplies, but it is getting a bit crazy. With all four of them in school we need to make around eighty-five cards.

yarn

I bought the most amazing yarn the other day. It is a black and white chunky baby alpca. It is one of the nicest yarns I have every knit with. Since is is really expensive ($25 a skein) I am treating myself to a scarf.

While at the yarn shop I also found a pattern for something to make. It is a jacket/dress thing that I will give a try. I am not the best at clothing, so it might wind up being lots of hats, mittens and gloves for the family.

happy birthday

Happy Birthday my smurf friend!

snapshot of winter 02

I spotted seeds in the store today, I need to start planning the garden!

paper

As if I do not have enough papers, I have a new one to add to my collection, cheese paper.

Another christmas treat from my brother was some cheese paper. The cheese paper is great to wrap up your left-over cheese and it is really cool looking.

If you happen to be in midtown on first avenue, stop in ideal cheese and pick yourself up some cheese paer and other culinary delights, or you can buy from them online.

beets

Last night we served a really good warm beet and goat cheese salad along side the sandwich mixto. My husband and I just came up with what we thought would be good in the salad. The kids loved it, so we consider it a success.

beet and goat cheese salad

6 beets
large bunch of asparagus
baby spring mix
3 oz goat cheese
balsamic vinaigrette (I make my own, but I am sure a good bottled one would work well)
handful of shelled pistachios chopped

preheat oven to 450 degrees

peel and cut beets into large bite size pieces. Place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 20 minutes.

While the beets are roasting, wash and dry asparagus. Cut into bite size pieces, place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.

Let the beets and asparagus cool slightly.

When you are ready to serve, place a handful of greens on a plate. Add some beets and asparagus and some crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle on the vinaigrette then sprinkle chopped pistachios on top.

sandwich mixto

Back in our other life my husband and I traveled. Within a year we went on three trips to Europe. Our first trip was to Italy (I think my favorite). The second was an eastern european trip to the cities of Prague, Vienna and Budapeste. Our last trip (I was pregnant with our first) was to Spain. While in Spain we filled up on sandwich mixto. A sandwich mixto is just a simple grilled cheese with jamon, and maybe it was because we were in Spain, but they were so much better then anything I had ever had here.

For Christmas by brother brought me a wheel of manchego, a favoite cheese of mine, along with several other culinary delights (more about them later). It might seem like a strange gift, but he works at ideal cheese in midtown and we have become spoiled cheese snobs. For dinner tonight we made sanwich mixtos with the manchego. We had a hard time finding jamon so we bought an italian ham to use along with a really good italian country white bread. We served them with a warm beet salad (check tomorrow for that) and considered it a hit.

snapshot of winter 01

I am wishing it was spring.

a new year

Times has flown by and it is hard to believe that it is already 2009.
Wishing you a happy new year!